New York Attorney General Letitia James
New York Attorney General Letitia James (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

When allegations of corruption, unchecked spending and self-dealing at the NRA finally broke into the open last year following the virtual street fight at the Indianapolis convention, we called the situation exactly what it has turned out to be; an existential threat to the organization. The situation was that serious because, due to inertia, inattention, negligence, or a mixture of the above, the NRA operated under a New York state charter.

That gave the elected officials of one of the most anti-gun states in the country control over the fate of the Association. Then the whole mess spilled out for all to see with the fight between the NRA and Ackerman McQueen, the resulting revelations of spending on clothes, travel, apartments, and more. It became clear that most of the NRA’s scores of board members had no input or oversight over that spending.

nra wayne lapierre
Dan Z for TTAG

A few board members tried to exercise the oversight the Association needed; people like Pete Brownell, Tim Knight, Esther Schneider, Allen West and a few others pushed Wayne LaPierre for information and a say in the Association’s operations. You know, the functions board members are supposed to actually perform.

All who dared to challenge the NRA’s top management were frozen out or exiled in a Stalin-like purge.

The drama in Indianapolis and the resulting media reports gave New York’s Attorney General, Letitia James, who’d campaigned on a promise of taking on the NRA, exactly the excuse she needed to begin a wide-ranging investigation into the NRA’s operations, an investigation that was always headed in one direction.

wayne LAPIERRE nra
National Rifle Associaiton Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

That process reached its predetermined destination when the Attorney General announced that she’s suing the NRA, seeking to dissolve the Association and put it out of business.

The NRA handed New York Attorney General Letitia James a pistol and stood right in front her. Yesterday, she pulled the trigger. 

How can she do that? Well, as the New Yorker noted last April, under the state’s non-profit laws, board members have a fiduciary duty to the membership…one that few if any of them actually seemed able to or interested in performing.

James Fishman, a co-author of “New York Nonprofit Law and Practice: With Tax Analysis,” a leading text on nonprofit law, told me, “There is no such thing as a director who doesn’t direct. You’re responsible to make yourself aware of what’s going on. If the board doesn’t know, they’ve breached their duty of care, which is against the law in New York,” where the N.R.A. is chartered. According to [Marc] Owens, the former I.R.S. official, New York State “could sanction board members, remove board members, disband the board, or close down the organization entirely.”

And here we are.

The news of the New York AG’s move to chloroform the NRA was met with predictable reactions from gun owners and Second Amendment supporters. Plenty were outraged at the attack on the nation’s oldest civil rights organization. They called it a blatantly political move, and there’s little doubt that’s exactly what it is.

James had obviously coordinated her lawsuit with District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine. Through a miraculous feat of coincidence, Racine, another bitter enemy of the NRA, filed his own lawsuit yesterday, too. Racine had been investigating a separate entity, the NRA Foundation which was chartered in…wait for it…Washington, D.C. Racine’s lawsuit alleges unapproved loans from the Foundation to Main NRA to fund top executives’ pet projects.

So yes, the lawsuits and their timing — heading into the fall election for which the NRA had just pledged to spend “tens of millions” in the Trump reelection effort — were transparent political attacks aimed at both Trump and the nation’s most prominent supporter of gun rights.

Wayne LaPierre NRA
Dan Z for TTAG

But that doesn’t mean that what’s being alleged by James (or Racine) in her lawsuit isn’t true. She’s alleging wrongdoing by LaPierre, NRA corporate counsel and secretary John Frazer, retired CFO Wilson Phillips, and the NRA’s embattled former COO, Josh Powell. James’s suit asks for the four to be fined and reimburse millions they allegedly wrongfully received.

So for all of our readers who reacted by dismissing this as another prominent Democrat using her office to attack the NRA and, by extension, gun owners and gun rights, we would only remind you that both things can be true. The lawsuit(s) can be both a conveniently timed political hit job and justifiable on the merits based on actual, verifiable wrongdoing.

The second part of that will be up to a court to decide. James has subpoenaed reams of documents from scores of individuals including board members as well as current and former officers and employees, so she presumably has her prosecutorial ducks all lined up. The Association will be defended by the best attorneys members’ money can buy.

While everyone is innocent until proven guilty (no one has been charged with a crime, by the way) we’ve talked to enough people who are in a position to know who tell us that much of what has been alleged in the press and now in the New York AG’s lawsuit is based in reality. The very things the now-purged board members brought up are reflected in AG James’ complaint.

As for those five million or so members, most of them will probably continue to support LaPierre, his lieutenants and the sycophants he’s installed on the board to ensure he stays in the top job come hell or high water. At least until more details of what’s actually been happening on Waples Mill Road comes out in court.

NRA Virginia town hall
Courtesy Jeff Hulbert

As we’ve written a number of times, the cause of gun rights is best served by a strong, healthy and accountable National Rifle Association. Whatever you think of their current management or recent business practices, they’ve been the 800-pound gorilla in terms of wielding political influence where gun rights are concerned and are in the best position — along with other gun rights orgs — to defend and extend the cause of Americans’ gun rights.

Unfortunately, a strong, healthy and accountable National Rifle Association is not something anyone has seen for quite some time. The NRA has been in financial difficulty for years now, after going all-in on the 2016 election. Unforced errors like the disastrous Carry Guard program have also cost it dearly in time and legal expenses, resulting in reduced operations, salary cuts and layoffs.

NRA Carry Guard Insurance
RF for TTAG

Besides the NRA’s legion of enemies in politics, the press and the Civilian Disarmament Industrial Complex, the only person to benefit from the latest news will be attorney Willian Brewer to whom the Association has been shoveling tens of millions of dollars for years now — the very issue that Oliver North raised last year that got him canned. The money flow to Brewer and his firm will only accelerate now.

It’s possible, of course, that James has overplayed her hand. She could have simply gone after the four named individuals — either civilly or criminally — in an effort to force the NRA to clean up its act without trying to bring down the entire operation. That’s what an objective, non-politically motivated prosecutor would have done. But that’s not who conducted this investigation. James, after all, called the NRA a “terrorist organization.”

News of the assaults on the NRA from New York and D.C. could serve to motivate the Association’s members and gun owners in general, as if they need any more motivation than a choice between the status quo and a guy who’s promised to make Beto O’Rourke his gun control czar. We’ll see in November.

In the mean time. LaPierre and the rest of his cadre will continue to do whatever it is they do in Fairfax while spending millions more to fend off the threat of dissolution. That means more members’ cash that could have gone to protecting and electing people this fall who support the right to keep and bear arms, not to mention the other functions like promoting the shooting sports and being “the premier firearms education organization in the world” which is ostensibly part of the Association’s mission.

Stay tuned.

 

 

 

 

 

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149 COMMENTS

  1. nope. I stopped renewing my membership years ago. I am with GOA and have USCCA for insurance. The NRA became corrupted and will never be able to clear its name.

    • I also allowed my NRA membership to expire last year, and now support the GOA and FPC. However, I do hope this lawsuit puts the fear of God into any future NRA leaders (should the org actually survive long term) to manage its affairs properly and openly.

      IMHO, the very best thing that can happen is for the dirty truth to come out, the Board members to vote LaPierre out and oust Hammer, and for a no-nonsense, everyday-Joe, unpolished but likeable person to become the new face of the NRA for the next decade…all before the upcoming election. The new president could use the opportunity to strip the NRA of its dross and revitalize the organization as the Phoenix that rises from the ashes to become even more formidable against the Left than ever before. As it always should have been.

      I nominate Mike Rowe. He gets the dirty job done with a smile, a handshake, and a hearty thank you.

      • “I nominate Mike Rowe.”

        Sheriff David Clarke would be an interesting choice to expand membership into communities that could use the support.

        Colion Noir, if interested, could also be powerful, especially when exposing the racist roots of ‘gun control’…

        • No, not Colion. But Sheriff Clarke…there’s a contender for sure. I can envision sitting down and having a beer with Rowe, but Clarke would have the gravitas to stand before the opposition and tell them what-for.

          Sheriff Clarke it is, then.

    • Good for you. I’m sure the Pratt family sends you a christmas card for lining their pockets. LaPierre did not “loot” $64 million in 3 years. He did not cancel the NRA convention because he supports the Trump ban on bumpstocks. He took $3 million in trips over THIRTY YEARS. Yah, he used “private jets”. All that doesn’t add up to $64 million. The socialist have stepped on their dick. This is a blatant political move to discredit NRA. Any fool that tries to blame the NRA for the kung flu re-action is mentally ill.

    • And when GOA’s records are ‘leaked’ to the internet and the org is targeted as well, which law firm are you going to reach out to?

  2. It’s going to be a hard-fought battle no matter what happens but what happens the NRA will still be there LaPierre might not be and a few more but that’s alright I am not a member anymore but they do a lot of good

        • Then they should charter a new organization in Delaware, say the National Firearms Owners Association, transfer over its members and pay all future dues to that new organization. And make sure that Wayne is not a part of it. The old NRA can fight to the death with what it has left. Get Cox to come back; his canning lead me to not renew, and I will not renew until Wayne is history. The NRA litigation side has done good work here in California, and I appreciate that, but I will not fund the national organization or its expenditure of funds on political campaigns. (Lobbying is one thing, political campaigning another all together. The organization should have stuck to what it was good at.)

  3. Just for speculation, could the NRA have moved out of NY and DC when all the bad news came to light last year and put itself out of jurisdiction, or can you not flee the investigation? I remember it was thoroughly discussed NYC seeking to dissolve them was a potential outcome, other than moving decades ago, could they have moved a month ago, last year, etc? If so, I wonder why they didn’t…

        • If you are going to make a statement about the law you should be able to back it up. Sure facts don’t matter to you but if you want to have a discussion you need to be able to support your arguement. Its debate 101, you would probably lose against a high schooler.

      • Has that ever stood up to a court challenge? It seems that the rules for the new state are just as valid. I don’t think such a law could apply to for-profit corps. Nobody would stand for NY forcing companies to stay in their high-tax hellhole.

  4. LaPierre is a complete piece of trash. I left the NRA years ago and now give to the GOA. If that POS had any integrity he would have resigned years ago, but he doesn’t and here we are.

    • I like Wayne LaPierre, he’s not such a bad guy. He’s just misunderstood. Misunderstood like me. I would vote for him if he ran for president against Trump.

      • I despise Wayne LaPierre, he’s theiving scum who has destroyed My NRA. He crawled out of the same pit of excrement as Trump.

        • Fake enuf for you?

          This sounds more like the real Enuf…but his political posts have become so caricaturable that we may never know the difference. Poe’s Maxim in action.

        • Hey TheBSonTTAG Go F yourself.Give all your money to the Pratt’s and Dudley. I’m sure you will get your moneys worth. Or are YOU a “paid shlll”? More likely a paid shit.,

    • Too bad WLP was for it before he was against it, the qricks head should be on a pike.

      Thankfully N. H. governor vetoed it.

  6. I say send them to prison. 70 or 80 years old? I don’t care. The NRA is finished. And its the leadership who re-wrote the rules, to stop any intervention by the membership, that has sealed the boards fate.

    I expect there will be class action lawsuits with lawyers telling members like myself to join them. To get some of our membership money back. In the end only the lawyers will get rich. The members will get a coupon redeemable at a local gun store for one box of ammo.

    • With price of ammo up 200% this year, getting a box or two is pretty good. By the time this shakes out in court and if Biden is elected, we will be well into “the war of soy boy aggression.”

      You’ll probably be able to trade in half a box of Tulammo 9mm to the bank to pay off a mortgage by that time.

      I’d say it’s more likely you’ll get a range bag – made in China by our new overlords.

    • He will fully understand it when he shows up at the pen and becomes some Bubba’s new girl friend.

  9. Mr. LaPierre is both a tyrant and greedy moron. I suspect that he’s going to stay on until the end to avoid being personally investigated and possibly tried for RICO type offenses. I could be way off, but everything he’s “alleged” to have done sounds like a criminal act and conspiracy. He’ll never quit even if doing so would save the NRA for it’s members.

    I’m a life, patron member, but when I called to get some of my membership money back, it was explained that the bylaws didn’t allow any refunds. Sounds a lot like Social Security, pay in and if you die young your money stays with the government. No refunds.

  10. LaPierre and his loyal henchmen grew arrogant and complacent over the years, and they used the NRA as their personal fiefdom. To their shame, they hurt the cause of defending and strengthening the 2nd Amendment and helped our enemies. If they’ve done something criminal, by all means prosecute them.

    But, New York’s Attorney General, Letitia James isn’t trying to just prosecute the corrupt officers of the organization, she’s trying to eliminate the organization that these officials exploited. It’s a ridiculous line of reasoning.

    James is a corrupt political hack who is abusing her power – something that seems to be an altogether too common circumstance these days.

    With the right people at its head the NRA can still be a formidable voice to help us fight Bloomberg, Soros, and the rest of the despots who seek to minimize the rights of us common people.

  11. Dan;
    With respect, while you and I are in agreement on the state of the NRA, the simple fact is we are at war. This year’s election will settle our fates, one way or the other. Wayne and I have had our issues over the years…it is fair to say that he does not like me, nor I him. But the NRA remains the Big Dog in a time when we need the Big Dog. I publicly called on Wayne to step down, with honor, in Indianapolis…he could have left with his golden parachute and the thanks of members for his years of service. You see how that went. I remain a Life Member and plan to continue sending them money, because, as I said, we are in the fight of our lives. BTW, I believe the reason the AG filed a lawsuit instead of indictments is because she didn’t have the goods to indict; she certainly didn’t indict out of the goodness of her heart. I place a lot of blame on the BoD (of which many are good friends), excepting the few who fought in Indianapolis. I would also like to note for the record that James Frazer is a good friend of mine for many years.

    • Michael,
      We are largely on the same page. War was actually declared years ago. I only wish Wayne and his cabal hadn’t been so eager to hand all of that convenient ammunition to the other side.

      • Indeed. Things might go better if they had made an effort to clean their house.

        Instead, they doubled-down.

        • The NRA has followed the same path as the Government. In the beginning It had a Cause with the betterment of the citizens in mind. They worked to support the Rights of all citizens and make a place for all to safely prosper. As time went they began to be infiltrated by people who were more interested in the Power their positions gave them. With that Power came personal gain and influence in areas other than it’s original purpose. Once those people were able to reach positions of control and insert others with the same goals into positions that supported their control. The original Cause was no longer a part of the Equation. It was replaced by the Power, Influence and all the Monetary Gains that went along with their Positions. The Citizens simply became another income stream to further their Self Affirming Agenda. What were once Tools for the Betterment of All. Once allowed to self replicate for their Own Purposes. Destroy everything they were Intended to Protect.

    • Michael Bane,

      I remain a Life Member and plan to continue sending them money, because, as I said, we are in the fight of our lives.

      Why would you continue to send money to the National Rifle Association if:
      1) They cannot point to a single significant victory in the last 8 years.
      2) Senior officers are siphoning-off obscene amounts of donations.
      3) Senior officer conduct has alienated 10s of millions of former members.

      If you can prove me wrong, I am all ears.

        • How much help is the NRA likely to be in helping us keep them?

          They fully supported Trump’s executive overreach on bump stocks — which, if the courts continue to let it stand, is likely to provide legal cover for the progressive fascists to attempt at a ban and confiscation of ALL semiautomatics when they’re back in the White House.

          I’ll vote for Trump in spite of that, because there’s so much good he can still do despite that egregious failure. Trump saw an easy win and jumped on it — but the NRA told us they had Trump’s ear. It was their job to keep him from putting our rights in danger, but they *supported* that appalling decision, and as far as I’m concerned they shoulder 100% blame for it.

          So no, I don’t trust them to be any use in a real battle for our Second Amendment rights.

          The NRA could still be useful as a honeypot, I guess. While they’re occupying the enemy’s attention, maybe other orgs can slip under the radar and do something useful.

        • Well, Ing, what do you want your tombstone on bumpstock hill to read? PS, I still don’t give a shit. Bumpstocks are stupid.

        • Bumpstocks will be used to justify all semi autos as machine guns. If you can change the stock and make it a machine gun according to the BATF it is a machine gun.

          Keep up the smug replies and supporting our enemies, it’s really helping. Trump either through design or stupidity opened that door and the NRA as usual not only did nothing but supported it.

        • “Bumpstocks are stupid” might suffice. Or better yet, “It’s not just about bumpstocks, stupid.”

          So far, the courts have let both an ex post facto taking and an executive rewrite of clear legislative language regarding bumpstocks stand unopposed. Courts are letting cases proceed based on this, and Trump’s newly invented law means those cases have the potential to cripple the PLCA and lead to “legal” bans on all semiautomatic firearms.

          When the next progressive in the White House weaponizes the precedent Trump just set, you can repeat it, and it’ll do you just as much good then as it does now.

        • @ TheBSonTTAG

          Just when I think you’ve got everything all wrong, you go and post things I have been screaming for an age. Make up your mind, I’m fairly certain we’re on the same side ultimately.

          “Keep up the smug replies and supporting our enemies, it’s really helping. Trump either through design or stupidity opened that door and the NRA as usual not only did nothing but supported it.”

          You’d do well to heed your own advice in the beginning of this quote. The rest of it is indisputable fact, though you left out option 3. Pandering to the fence sitters.

        • @ 9 x 39 oh good its Powersurge again. You do have it all wrong and there is no way in hell I am on your side. There is no fence to sit on, either you like freedom or you don’t. Of course I am sure you prefer slavery, most on TTAG do. That’s fine for you but it’s not how I am going to live my life.

        • @FullofBSonTTAG

          What is this, the thin blue line? In fact, you couldn’t be any more wrong in anything you’ve posted about me. I have exactly no idea where you’ve gotten any of this in your diminutive mind, and attacking me at every turn out of the blue. I am not Powerserge, get that through your thick skull.

          I have posted in support of several of your previous posts before you went ape shit out of nowhere. And you’re goddamned right I’m going to fight back against a smear campaign like you’re putting on. Now show me exactly one post where I have ever advocated anything but fighting for freedom. I’m waiting…

        • The reference to fence sitters, was voters btw…

          As for the question of freedom, you have any thing other than a one person suicide mission in mind? I’m all for freedom & purposed suicidally brave action, but not dumb ineffective ones.

      • Do you have any standard capacity magazines? Why is that?
        Do you have any semi-autos? Why is that?
        Do you have a concealed carry ability? Why is that?
        Do you have a “stand your ground” law? Why is that?
        Do you live where nazi mobs riot, loot and burn? Why is that?
        Do you think Shrillary Clintoon would have been for or against any of the above? Do you think whoever replaces Biden will be for or against any of the above?

        • If you are in Texas you can’t actually be serious about the NRA and concealed carry legislation. I was directly involved with that fight, and the several related bills that have followed it. The NRA did nothing other than add it to their list of succeses after other people and organizations did the work.

        • Wasting your time pretty sure this guy is a shill. The NRA had little or nothing do with those things happening.

        • jwtaylor Really? I spent that YEAR working on Concealed carry. I testified before the Texas House and Senate committees. I worked with the legislators. Where were you? I remember going to a dinner with NRA reps at Ruth’s Chris and told the female NRA rep how the cow ate the cabbage. Where were you? I was in the first CHL instructor class and the DPS instructor told me how much they resented my efforts to tune done the training requirements since they wanted all CHL applicants to be trained to DPS standards of shooting. Like handgun shots at 50+ yards to qualify. Where were you?

        • FiftycalTX is delusional. He was way cooler when he was posting under the name ‘James Campbell’.

        • FiftyCalTX,

          I have a state firearms advocacy organization that is arguably the most powerful/formidable/effective in the United States. That organization, in concert with key conservative state Congressman, passed concealed carry, castle doctrine, and stand-your-ground laws in my state. They also fought-off more recent attempts to ban standard-capacity magazines and undo all of the previous. I have photos of them testifying in committee hearings at my state capitol building. The NRA was not involved.

          If you are such a significant/influential member of the NRA, then go clean house at the top. There is ZERO excuse for top officers to squander millions of dollars the way that they have.

          I truly want the NRA to be wildly successful. In their current state of affairs, they are wildly failing.

        • That explains it. While you were eating steak with the NRA I was at the Capitol and legislatos offices.

        • FiftyCalTX,

          … they wanted all CHL applicants to be trained to DPS standards of shooting. Like handgun shots at 50+ yards to qualify.

          I am not aware of any state, county, nor city law enforcement agency in the United States which requires their officers to shoot targets at 50+ yards to qualify.

          Unless you can show the online DPS standard which specifically requires such long distance shots to quality, I do not believe your assertion, nor anything else that you stated.

      • Gee “lack of sense”, what mysterious organization are you talking about? Dudley Brown and his “5 million” ghost members? And JW, I don’t think there are many legislators around the Capitol at 8 pm when there is no debate going on.

    • No, we are not in the fight of our lives, this election will not “settle our fates”, not even close. We are in the same fight we have always been in, only our position has strengthened quite a bit from prior years. If Trump loses as he well may, we are simply back to the same old battles in Congress. Biden putting forth the entire kitchen sink of Hoplophobic wet dream legislation does not change the fact that no President’s agenda survives a collission with Congress.

      We did not used to scare so easily. When did that change anyway?

      • If Biden he will have control and will pass his gun control agenda. You live in a bigger fantasy world than a typical LARPer.

        • Biden not only has to win, he has to get 60 democrat votes in the Senate or, as he has threatened (even though he has no say in it) he will have to eliminate the filibuster rule. The same thing that stopped Trump’s promised reforms (only 52 sure votes) will stop Biden.

        • Why is it that in every Presidential Silly Season great masses of voters forget that their candidate, along with the other side’s candidate, is not a magical mystical wizard? Our system of government has not only the designed in checks and balances but also the wild and wooly world of lobbyists and political swamp dwellers.

          By what sorcerer’s magic will Biden sweep away all opposition?

          You know, just like all the other Presidents who came before swept away all their opposition and achieved every hope and dream of their pre-election promise making?

          There may have been some sarcasrm in the above.

      • What scares me isn’t that this election *will* decide our fates…it’s that it COULD. There’s more at stake in this election than any since Reagan.

        If Biden wins and Congress remains split, we could be okay legislatively — but that doesn’t mean this country will be okay, not by a long shot. Joe Biden’s puppet masters are all of the rot and corruption of Obama’s tenure wrapped up in one tight little cabal. The federal leviathan, (aka the deep state, aka the bureaucracy) under their control, will again be fully weaponized against the Constitution and those who support it.

        President Trump is far from ideal. In fact, he’s borderline terrible. But I believe he does love this country for what it is, and that’s something we can work with. And he’s at least trying to do *some* of the right things with trade, immigration, federal courts, and other things we really need the president to get right. He could also be a bulwark between us and the legislative insanity that’ll likely ensue if Democrats get hold of the House and the Senate.

        Plus, federal judges and Supreme Court appointments could bear either good or evil fruit for decades, depending on who appoints them.

        None of this is WILL…it’s all COULD. But it’s all important — and anyone who values their First or Second Amendment rights who votes for Biden is voting for the wrong damn could.

        • Trump is well beyond the border of Terrible. He crossed that line before he was nominated.

          The only benefit has been the Federalist Society has been doing up the lists of candidates for Federal judges. But that could have been the case with any Republican President.

          The fallacy of the last election being either Trump or Clinton is just that, a fallacy. It serves only to excuse those from responsibility who made the horrible misjudgement of supporting Trump for the nomination. For as we all saw, Clinton’s invincibility at the polls was a myth. Hell, she was a lousy campaigner, a worse strategist and the video’s of her having to be helped and loaded bodily into her black SUV were opposition gold.

          If Biden wins and the Democrats secure the Senate, even with a weak majority, the fault will be upon all those who handed Trump the nomination in 2016. The logical outcome of that bad deed is approaching, it’s as simple as that.

        • “the fault will be upon all those who handed Trump the nomination in 2016.”

          Yeah, that’s the ticket. It couldn’t possibly be the fault of the bitter “real republicans” that are actively campaigning against him. Can I have some of what you’re smoking?

        • “The only benefit has been the Federalist Society has been doing up the lists of candidates for Federal judges. But that could have been the case with any Republican President.”

          Could have been the case…but never has. Except with Trump.

          And I don’t see how you can say with a straight face that the 2016 presidential election wasn’t a binary choice. There were only two real candidates. That’s binary. (Technically it’s never an absolute binary; I voted 3rd party, but did so knowing that my vote had no influence on the outcome, which for practical purposes is *always* binary.)

          You still haven’t ever answered what would be so much worse about a Trump presidency, other than you think Trump is a terrible person. Or corrupt. But that’s a wash. They’re ALL shitty human beings, and they’re ALL corrupt.

          I look at three things, in escalating importance:
          – What have they promised to do to/for people who cherish the Constitution?
          – What are they likely to do to/for this country and its constitution when they have power?
          – What have they *already* done when they were in office?

          Biden loses on all three counts. He’s promised the worst governing agenda imaginable, and what he’s done already and is likely to do again is worse than useless. 46 years of Bidenish crap has got us to this terrible point; if Trump really is the worst thing ever, you can thank Obama, Biden, and the Clintons for him (and the Bushes, too; let’s not forget the faux conservatives played their part, too).

      • ” We did not used to scare so easily. When did that change anyway? ”

        It changed when we were finally confronted with a bona fide existential threat. And what’s wrong with being scared? Scared people do a lot of heroic things.

      • Uh, EVERYTHING is at stake this election. The Democrats have slipped off their mask — it is a party of Collectivism (Marxism) very much intending to impose a Collectivist form of governance on this country. That means eventually the Constitution is gone in all but name, and we will live under a totalitarian state.

        Do an Internet search about “Cultural Marxism,” Agenda 21 / Agenda 2030 and read the tenets of the “Green New Deal.” It is all classic Marxism, dressed up as “sustainability” advanced under the big lie of “climate change.” Read up on the tact titled “and not a shot is fired.”

        They’ve already said that the plan on eliminating the filibuster in the Senate, and seriously proposed packing the Supreme Court in order to ram-through their agenda.

    • Is this Michael Bane from the outdoor channel or just a coincidence of screen name?

    • “But the NRA remains the Big Dog in a time when we need the Big Dog. ”
      No sir. The current NRA is a liability. A millstone around our necks.
      Continued support of the NRA is nothing more than “battered wife syndrome.”

      • The truth, and more would do well to acknowledge that fact.

        Take your pick of them all, but the NRA is a stone around our collective necks, and an I luv me jacket rolled into one, intent on standing on your head to preserve theirs while you drown below.

    • I’ve renewed my membership with NRA, but unlike in the past (since the WLP revelations came out) I’ve donated not a cent more.

      Instead, I have joined GOA and the Second Amendment Foundation.

      For this election cycle (at least) the NRA is now neutered; we have to hope that individual Second Amendment supporters and GOA/ SAF can fill the void.

      WLP and his cronies’ greed have done incalculable battle to Second Amendment rights and, by extension, our nation.

      I hope he rots in jail first, then in hell!

    • The enemy of my enemy is my friend….I might not like the way the NRA is [currently] managed, but I don’t want to lose them in this fight. I’m a member of GOA, the 2A Foundation AND the NRA….I see no purpose whatsoever to abandon ship in the midst of war….we need ALL the help we can get…you don’t leave your 5MM friends on the battlefield. Change is affected from within….this is our thing…Mrs. James….stay out…we don’t need or want your help – as the alleged injured party we, the members of the NRA refuse to press charges….we will take care of it ourselves…

  13. As I said in an earlier post:
    This is a political attack on conservative gun owners. If there is corruption on the part of the NRA leadership, then by all means arrest and charge them for the alleged crimes. (Have not yet seen any personal charges.) What the NYAG is doing is to deprive the NRA from giving support to pro gun conservative candidates. Purely partisan politics! With the timing of the charges against the organization, prove me wrong.

  14. [NRA has been] the 800-pound gorilla in terms of wielding political influence where gun rights are concerned and are in the best position — along with other gun rights orgs — to defend and extend the cause of Americans’ gun rights.

    That may have been the case in the past. It sure seems to me that the National Rifle Association has been almost entirely irrelevant for the last 10 years or so.

    • That’s what happens when you live in a bubble for years. Surround yourself with yes-men and a board who is just as corrupt.
      Kick out the board members who wanted to do the right thing, and you now have the bed you made.
      I doubt that the AG will be kind to Wayne. Heck, Jeffery Epstein’s girlfriend will get a better deal.

    • Nah, they actually did a great job in 2012-2013 making sure the Obama AWB died. They were no compromise then.

      Then Trump won, and they somehow got more restrictions on us with the “most progun President in history”, instead of any expansion of rights.

      • Yeah they did a good job after Newtown…that was before Don Wayne got that young girlfriend I’m thinkin’! I’ve moved on and allowed my membership to expire. Other than reading the American Rifleman on the tur-let I can’t think of anything besides Newtown they’ve done for me lately! Join other groups especially local state ones.

  15. Three absolute truths:

    Absolute power corrupts absolutely

    Money change everything

    Politicians are slimy

  16. This is what you get for being tools. You fudds think you’re being clever, gaming the system by putting up with “necessary” evils. It’s a joke. Where would you get the mind to do that? You don’t have principles to sell out. You’re being lazy, unprincipled and delusional, that’s all. Now New York is going to clean up your mess, one of them anyway.

    This doesn’t mean you’ll get a new activist/lobbying group that’s worth a fart in the wind. I know a lot of you boomers are used to failing upward but not this time. Rather you’ll be tools for GOA or something and turn them into another bloated, unaccountable GOP organ.

  17. Whether justified or not they are not going after the NRA for corruption, they are using corruption as excuse to destroy a po,critical opponent. We should not be cheering them on. The Second Amendment community should be taking care of this.

    • tdiinva,

      I am not cheering the demise of an organization that has, at times, helped advance our right to keep and bear arms.

      The sad reality is that the top officers of the Nation Rifle Association appear to be fleecing the organization and the organization no longer appears to be effective.

      I truly wish that the Second Amendment community could clean house at the NRA. Unfortunately, that appears to be impossible since several good people have tried and failed more than once. Thus, I look at this action from the New York Attorney General as a blessing in disguise. Progressives are in effect scoring on their own goal. (Cleaning up the NRA will enable a new-and-improved NRA to rise from the ashes — or it will enable people to enthusiastically support alternate organizations which are not bogged down in corruption.)

    • tdiinva, it’s called tough love. WLP has a stranglehold on the NRA. Apparently no one else could do anything about it. A few tried and they were kicked to the curb. I hope WLP is forced to pay back millions.

    • “We should not be cheering them on. The Second Amendment community should be taking care of this.”

      TD, we *tried*.

      WLP refuses to leave…

  18. Dan – you are smoking the wrong stuff… Simply read through your own forums and you will see that there is very little support for the NRA anymore. For sure not for WLP and his buddies.

    Regarding the 800 lbs gorilla – again, wake up. The NRA has been SUPPORTING gun control, not fighting it as everybody who paid fees expected it. Full Auto Firearm ban – fully supported by these crooks. Bumpfire stock ban – fully supported by these crooks. Fighting against States that criminally ignore the 2A – not these crooks of course. ALL they were doing is begging for more money, more money, just to shove it in WLP’s ass.

    My money goes to GOA – yes, they are smaller and don’t have the connections we need, but we can get them there and then our money will at least be used to support our voices and to protect our rights.

  19. If the NRA vanishes tomorrow? Nothing will change. I will still vote my guns. I’m not a member. Did that change my voting or beliefs?

    There is one reason biden is the candidate for the dems this year. And only one. The dnc knows that Trump cannot be beat this go round so they set up a stooge for slaughter.

    • “…The dnc knows that Trump cannot be beat this go round so they set up a stooge for slaughter.”

      Nope – they only have stooges…

      • Or…as an article I read earlier suggested…Uncle Joe steps aside due to ‘Health’ and at the Democratic convention M. Obama is nominated. Antifa and the rest go quiet because she asks them to (and Barrack has some some say over the different groups) and she becomes the hero of the moment….

        She’ll pull all of the progressive cities and both coasts…and President Trump will be hard put to overcome that without all of the middle Red States..and a couple of the purple ones.

        So basically a third term for Obama any way you look at it.

        • Simply turning off antifa at the 11th hour, even if they can, is not enough. The blue cities have been gutted and their leadership exposed as useless. Karens and soccer moms are buying guns out of fear. Real fear.

          Trump wins in November. And he can quite possible increase the red in the house and the senate.

        • I hope you are right as I fully support President Trump’s policy’s. The article I read gave me pause because I don’t/can’t see Uncle Joe going the distance especially any live debates.

          I think the Democratic party will pull some nonsense in the 11th hour just as the article suggested. It won’t/can’t be Joe. I agree that everyone, even the gun control folks, have bought guns and ammo aplenty, but is it a attitude change or is it just fear with out serious introspection?

          86 DAYS and Joe is still in his basement? Something is up.

    • Nothing will change for you, but losing the NRA will be a major political loss for gun rights.

    • “The dnc knows that Trump cannot be beat this go round so they set up a stooge for slaughter.”

      JWM, everybody the Leftists know is convinced Biden will win. And he just may, Trump has pissed-off an awful lot of middle of the road types.

      I hope I’m wrong, but at this point, it appears to me Biden will win handily.

      Angry people *vote*. And the Leftists have an ample supply of folks that hate Trump…

      • Well, what with the BurnLootMurder riots and corona-chan, the center and Right have plenty to be angry about, too. Plenty of voter motivation to go around…I guess we’ll see which side is more motivated and cohesive come November.

  20. The plan isn’t just to disband the org. It’s to put democrat controlled groups in charge of the money and assets.

  21. The organization belongs to the voting members.

    If the NY AG has evidence against Wayne & Co., charge them.

    We should file a class action lawsuit against the NY AG and any officers of the NRA that have violated the bylaws in Federal Court.

  22. Of course this is both a political hack job on the NRA and a solidly justified pursuit under the law against those who have damaged the NRA from within. Both are true.

    Bummer it had to happen, but the NRA leadership made it so, no one else to blame.

    • Arrogance.

      That, and no criminal ever believes they’ll be caught. If they did, they wouldn’t be criminals.

  25. The buck stops with Wayne, he put the NRA in this vulnerable position.

    It appears that Oliver North was spot on with his assessment of Wayne La Pierre.

  27. They’ll weasel out. They will reemerge, on que, just like GM. La Puke will take a knee, albeit with an incredible golden parachute, along with his closest henchmen. They’ll be required to follow several mandates, non of which are truly enforceable, pay a fine, and in 2-5 years, BAU. New York will declare victory, even though the only positive is La Puke will out. In the mean time, the city will see record violent crime while spending millions making the NRA reinvent itself.

    • If LaPierre committed all these heinous crimes, where are the CHARGES? If the 4 execs mentioned did all this illegal stuff, WHERE ARE THE CHARGES? Oh, that’s right, there aren’t any. Why is that? Oh, Maybe just to SMEAR the NRA. Well, FUDD, put up or shut up. I gave NRA/ILA $100 today. How much have you given?

  28. “New York’s Attorney General, Letitia James …”

    I can’t read that name without sub-vocally pronouncing it “Le – TIT – tia”. lol

  29. It was an NRA member that said “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”. They twice (at least) refused the peaceful revolution of the members, now they face the violent revolution of the state.

    • Most revolutions only replace the old crooks or tyrants by a new set of crooks and tyrants, they just use different words and titles and the dummies think it’s all new and different.

  30. ” It became clear that most of the NRA’s scores of board members had no input or oversight over that spending.”

    More likely, they looked the other way because it benefited them to do so.

  32. GOT IT Zimmerman. You CNN, NYimes and the MSM all HATE the NRA. Is that why you bought this formerly great site?

    • We just want them to clean house and become an actual gun rights organization. Don’t think that’s asking a whole lot.

    • I’m an NRA member. Have been for years.

      Maybe you didn’t read the post, but I wrote, “the cause of gun rights is best served by a strong, healthy and accountable National Rifle Association.”

      And I didn’t buy the site. I’m just the managing editor.

  33. Well this addresses some of the original questions I had.
    I can’t support the NRA but I don’t want to see libs win either. Bout all I can say is good luck cause she’s got details. Even if she don’t win it’s going to make a lot of members eyebrows raise when the money trail comes out in the wash.

  35. “The lawsuit(s) can be both a conveniently timed political hit job and justifiable on the merits based on actual, verifiable wrongdoing.”

    In your Orwellian universe, maybe. Here on Earth, a political hit job is a political hit job.

  36. Just because the NY AG is suing to dissolve the NRA doesn’t mean she gets what she wants. The Judge would have to agree to this and he would have to justify why the membership of the NRA would be better off. It seems far more likely that a judge would remove the officers (including Wayne) and the entire board and appoint an interim president with the direction to create a board one forth the size to steer the NRA going forward.

    The offences that Wayne, the officers, and the board committed were against the membership. To further punish the membership for the crimes of those people is unacceptable. I suspect NRA will be unable to move its charter for at least five years while they are under the thumb of whatever judge spells out the rules for them.

    I could be wrong, it has happened.

  40. FINALLY….the shit has hit the fan ( maybe ).

    Personally, I think that the actions of this NYAG is a good thing. She can expose WLP’s obscene spending of the member’s funds, and the corruptness of other BoD members; who are no better as far as their ethics are concerned….taking the money and doing nothing to support the 2nd as they should.

    As far as I am concerned, I hope that she threatens WLP and other BoD members with a jail sentence and fine; and agreeing to drop the threat of jail time if they ( and ESPECIALLY WLP ) will exit the NRA and have no further contact or connections with the NRA. No golden parachute for any of them, in exchange for no jail time.

    If it is determined that the NRA must dissolve as it is currently; let it resurrect as a newer, stronger organization which truly has the best interests of 2nd amendment supporters in a more gun-friendly location, such as Arizona; or any of the other states who support the right to keep and bear arms.

  41. This should be treated the same way the corrupt UAW is being handled: prosecute the individuals and let the organization survive. The government demanded resignations from UAW brass as a condition of not taking it over. Granted it’s not the same governmental bodies that are responsible for both, but the precedent should still work.

    Now since there is an agenda at work here, I’m sure NY will still push for dissolving instead of repairing the NRA. But at least there are other possibilities.

  42. Many, if not most, of the membership is only going to get WLP’s side of the story. My prediction is the next issue of the NRA magazines will talk of their innocence and call for funds to fight this purely political witch hunt. There’ll probably be another fundraising letter or three saying the same thing. If the NRA survives without WLP and cronies, this NY hack will have done a favor for the gun community. Her blatant anti-NRA campaigning could be leveraged as her not serving the best interests of the members and donors, which might fight the dissolution in appeals. I doubt the NRA’s case will fight dissolution and will concentrate on defending WLP et al.

  43. The move itself is entirely political but the fact is, they’ll probably win. There can be very little doubt at this point that the board members, and LaPierre himself, certainly didn’t perform their fiduciary duties as required by law. In fact, they canned or forced to resign anyone who did.

    Hopefully, when the dust settles, the NRA will reform and get back to the business of firearms education and 2nd amendment advocacy they should have been doing all along instead of functioning as a mechanism to enrich the leadership as it has been for 40 plus years. And hopefully, they’ll do it incorporated in a more 2A friendly state and headquartered somewhere other than Virginia.

  44. There are 4 rules of gun safety, there needs to be a 5th rule…(saw this new one in a meme over at Pjmedia)

    All guns are always loaded.
    Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
    Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target.
    Be sure of your target and what is beyond it.

    #5……Never let the government take your guns.

    All guns are always loaded.
    Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
    Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target.
    Be sure of your target and what is beyond it.
    Never let the government take your guns.

    It needs to be added to every gun safety class across the country so that even new, left wing gun owners get the message………maybe it will sink in…finally…

  45. Does anyone think that NY AG James would have sued to disband the NRA if it were about anything other than guns? The closest similar NYS case was the NYC ASPCA Humane Law Enforcement Division, which was quietly terminated in 2013 without any threat to disband the larger, sponsoring organization.

    Two points:

    1) What State can a new NRA go (or the legacy NRA go) to that George Soros cannot buy an Attorney General for another $ 20 million? He bought Letitia James with what is chump change for him. An NRA – new or old – must have a nexus in whatever State it moves to. In which state will the NRA be safe? There are none as long as Soros can select Attorneys General.

    2) AG James has just severely damaged New York State’s securities business. Associations and companies representing and producing non PC – but legal – products are going to haul ass out of New York State, including the NY stock exchanges. A precedent has been established.

  46. Mayor Bloomberg and Mr. Does would like to extend their gratitude to all of you who have helped them destroy the NRA.

  47. Each state needs its own organization to protect gun Rights since states rights overrule the 2nd Amendment. Your state is chipping away your Rights quickly as citizens believe the 2nd will do them any good. Your state is on the fast track that you will only be able to keep and bear arms in your home and nowhere else. Open carry laws keep you from carry it to your vehicle and concealed carry keeps you from having it in a case. “Red flag” laws are overriding the 4th Amendment and will be abused. Your county sheriff can issue CC permits for a fee or revoke it at any time. Your governor can overrule that. Paying for your Rights is not Consitutional.
    The sheriff and governor are elected but police are hired and under no obligation to do anything for you regardless of what you believe. Police seem to rule the sheriff which they should not have that power. You pay for police but you did not elect them and they are protected by immunity and unions. They are budget busters paid with tax dollars- taxation without representation. Do you know what your police make a month? They do not hide that they are para-military anymore either. The city in which I live the police have well over 400 m16s, why do police need those? The state police all have at least one full automatic rifle as well including CCW free for life. Federal government is the least of your worries and NRA, GOA etc do not lobby or deal on the state level so your dues or donations to them are useless. Most FFL holders are not doing background checks either so private sales are almost unheard of now.
    I had a handgun stolen and later saw it for sale online. I informed local PD and they seemed totally uninterested. The ph number in the ad was out of service. I am unable to get more info that law enforcement could get easily.
    And do not forget that you need ammunition. A firearm law does not matter when ammo is impossible to find. I did a quick online search and found 2 boxes of 38 Special available in this city and are $1 per round… .22 ammo was unavailable for about 8 years around here recently. I suggest if can find it buy your ammo in bulk as in 1000 minimum…
    If there ever was a time a citizen should be armed it is now.

  48. I don’t care what LaPierre spends on underwear or condoms or ties or suits to my way of thinking 🤔 the NRA has always done or tried to do the right thing sometimes in the political circles shit runs up hill anyone who has been a member in good standing should continue to do so the little whore in albany is a wannabe and if I had my way the boys should pay her and that asshole she sucks off and have two trees side by side that would solve a lot of bullshit

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